Controversial Lafayette remodel revised again

By Jonathan MoralesContra Costa Times

Posted:
02/17/2011 12:57:15 PM PST

Updated:
02/17/2011 12:57:16 PM PST

LAFAYETTE -- A Burton Valley couple looking to add a second story to their house have scaled their remodel back again. Whether or not they will get the chance to continue seeking the project's approval remains to be seen.

Joe and Noelle Polichio have spent much of the past year trying to get the city's OK to add about 1,800 square feet to their Lucas Drive house. Several neighbors have fought the addition, saying it would make the house unacceptably larger than others nearby.

In January, the City Council agreed with the neighbors and rejected the proposal.

The revised plans, which the city received from architect Ken Hertel on Feb. 4, would reduce the home's total living area by about 200 square feet and move two upstairs bedrooms back to the first floor.

The plans reduce the second story from 1,084 to 724 square feet but increase the amount of new first story space from 718 to 875 square feet.

The home's height was also reduced by a foot, and second-story windows on the north wall were removed.

Moving the childrens' bedrooms while leaving the master bedroom upstairs was something the Polichios told the council in January they were unwilling to do.

But in a phone interview Tuesday, Joe Polichio said it was the only way they could make the house smaller without significantly expanding the first floor.

"We had to definitely wrap our minds around not sleeping on the same level as our children, but with the lot the way it is, with the trees and the viable footprint space, this was the only option we had left to do something that was appropriate for our family," he said.

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William Wahlander, one of the Polichio's neighbors who originally appealed the project, said he did not want to comment until he saw more detailed plans. John Woolery, the other neighbor who formally appealed, also declined to comment.

Brian Mulry, an attorney representing Wahlander, Woolery others opposed to the remodel, did not respond to a request for comment.

Because the council had already voted to deny the project, the resolution affirming that decision was put on Monday's consent calendar, under which council members approve a group of noncontroversial and routine items all at once.

But Mayor Carl Anduri, one of three council members who voted in January to deny the project, was absent from the meeting, and the council voted to delay its final decision until Feb. 28.

At that time, the council can open the matter for further discussion, either that night or at a later date, or vote to affirm their earlier decision.